Save My Soul
by MaggieGirl
Summary: I was a heartless, pathetic, depressing worm of a human being. And that’s exactly what brought me here, to this damned place, Camp Green Lake.
1. My name is Diamond

This is somewhat different to all the other fics I've written...that's because all my other fics date back to the seventh grade! So, they'll be there for display until I happen to add another chapter or two. In the meantime, enjoy this, er, cheerful fic!  
  
~*~  
  
My name is Diamond.  
  
I'm fourteen years old, female, with pale skin, brown eyes, and dark brown hair. I always wore black clothing because colors were painful for me to wear. They clashed with my personality. Just like my name clashes with my whole being. A diamond is beautiful, valuable, loved and desired by all. I fall under none of those descriptions. Instead of beautiful, I look similar to that of a sewer rat. My value would be less than a smidge of a celebrity's saliva on a half-eaten ice cream cone. Love. What is that, anyways? I never knew such a thing. Desire. I desired to slit the throats of those brainless idiots who gawked at me and laughed and called me a Goth, assuming that I was flaunting the genre of music I favored. Music was a mystery to me. To me it just sounded like a bunch of sounds put together to make some sort of gumbo. A gumbo that sometimes made people stagger around like idiots, waving their arms around. Not wanting to end up like them, I stayed well away from music.  
  
I never show emotion. I didn't know how to cry, to laugh, to frown, to smile. There wasn't any need for it, anyways. I was a heartless, pathetic, depressing worm of a human being. And that's exactly what brought me here, to this damned place, Camp Green Lake.  
  
~*~  
  
"Miss Tyler, is it true that you attacked Joel Hunter in an alley?" The judge asked me.  
  
"Yes." I said. He scratched his chin for the eighth time.  
  
"Why did you do this?" he asked.  
  
"He was calling me a bitch and a Goth as I was walking by, and when I failed to look at him, he touched me inappropriately and—"  
  
"Are you aware that he is now in the hospital due to several injuries from your assault?" The judge interrupted.  
  
"I could care less even if he died," I said. "He nearly raped me."  
  
"Outrageous! My son wouldn't do anything like that!" A woman said, jumping to her feet.  
  
"Please sit, Mrs. Hunter." The judge said. He turned to face me. "Miss Tyler, do you know where your parents are?"  
  
"I don't know. Either dead or off screwing other people." I said.  
  
"A simple 'no' would suffice. Anyways, there are vacancies at several juvenile camps in Texas, which can help mold your character. I am giving you a chance to improve your life. Since you have no parents or guardians, I shall sentence you to a year at one of these camps."  
  
The judge slammed down his gravel.  
  
~*~  
  
I sat there in the bus, staring straight ahead. The guard was sitting right there and was looking uneasily at my gaze. It was his fault he chose to sit there. The fiery sun glared at me through the window, slowly frying my sun- deprived skin. I had to sit like that for another four hours until the bus came to a halt. I looked out the window for the first time since I boarded the bus and saw that the ground was covered in many craters. The guard beckoned me to follow him off the bus and I did...  
  
...Only to find a sight that nearly made me wretch on the spot.  
  
After being stuck with two males on a bus all day, I walk off and find that I have to spend a year with 30 plus males.  
  
...Ugh.  
  
~*~  
  
"Mr. Patterson?" A secretary peeked into the office of the fifty-year-old judge.  
  
"Yes, Sylvia, what is it?" He said, looking up.  
  
"Well...it's a matter concerning where you sent Miss Tyler for one year..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Camp Green Lake is a camp for BOYS."  
  
~*~  
  
I was led into a cabin with a messy desk with a fridge behind it. The room smelled of stale cigarette smoke and sunflower seeds. Behind the desk sat a man with sideburns and a cowboy hat.  
  
"Let's see here...Tyler...D-Diamond Tyler?" The man said, bewildered.  
  
"Yes." I said. He looked at me closely and then jumped to his feet.  
  
"Holy crap, you're a girl!"  
  
"Well, I was last time I checked." He mouthed wordlessly at me and then made for the door.  
  
"Wait here." He said. He returned a few minutes later with a woman. She looked at me.  
  
"What kind of idiot would send a girl to a guys' camp is what I wanna know." She said. She slowly paced in front of me. After a few moments, she sighed. "It's too late, anyways, so I guess she stays."  
  
For the next half hour I was told how the camp runs and all the rules. Then I was given two sets of uniforms, and I nearly wretched for the second time. Orange. Happy, putrid orange. I hated it.  
  
"We don't have any girls' tents, so you'll sleep in the Wreck Room. As for showers...we'll put a curtain around one of the stalls." The man, Mr. Sir said. "Perhaps you can go get acquainted with people."  
  
"Right." I said. I walked into the Wreck Room and saw some boys chilling out. Gah, there was orange everywhere!  
  
"Hey, kid, who are you?" A black boy with thick glasses said.  
  
"Diamond Tyler." Everyone looked up. One guy with crazy hair got up and circled me, looking me over.  
  
"If you're not a vulture, I suggest you stop that." I said.  
  
"You're a girl." He said, eyeing her suspiciously.  
  
"Yes, I know."  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Some judge sent me here because I put a guy in the hospital." I said. He shut up after that.  
  
I looked down at my uniform and cursed whoever created orange.  
  
"So, Diamond, what tent are you in?" The boy with the glasses said.  
  
"They said I'd sleep in here." Several boys exchanged looks and grinned.  
  
"I can tell you one thing straightforward: I have an STD. Don't even try." I said. Actually, I was a virgin, but these boys seemed really perverted.  
  
"Slut." One muttered. I kicked him very hard.  
  
"Say that again and I'll kill you." I hissed. He just slumped to the ground and made 'urk' sounds.  
  
"Man, why'd ya do that to Squid?" A Mexican boy said, going over to Squid and trying to help him up.  
  
"Whaddya think?" I went over to an empty couch, threw my stuff upon it, and then fell face first onto the couch.  
  
"I want out, and I want out now."  
  
~*~  
  
The next day, I woke up and looked at my watch. 4:28, man, I'm going back to sleep. Two minutes later, I heard a horn and then,  
  
"C'MON YOU GIRL SCOUTS! GET ON OUT HERE!"  
  
"Crap!" I yelled, falling off the couch. A few minutes later I emerged from the Wreck Room muttering about damn horns.  
  
"Get yer shovel and get on out there!" I grabbed a random shovel out of the shack marked "Library" and started to walk where everyone else was, but a hand grabbed my shovel and started to pull it away, but I kept an iron grip. I looked up to see the guy with the glasses.  
  
"Get your own."  
  
"That is my own."  
  
"Sorry, I don't see 'Belongs to an ugly face that even a mother couldn't love' written anywhere on this shovel." I said. He glowered at me as I walked away. Damn spoiled kid.  
  
~*~  
  
Oh god, my arms and back were hurting already and it wasn't even noon yet. I looked around me, and saw that other boys were two times deeper than I was. All of a sudden, a shovelful of dirt made contact with the back of my head. I turned around and saw that spoiled brat smirking at me.  
  
"You're dead." I said in a low voice and got out of my hole. I charged at him so fast that he didn't even have time to think, and before he knew it, he was pinned to the ground and I was pummeling him to death. Like second nature, all the others surrounded us, yelling.  
  
"Dude, this is awesome!"  
  
"Get her, X!"  
  
"Man, what are you saying? X is gettin' killed!"  
  
All of a sudden, a huge force knocked me off of him and into a nearby hole. There were several cheers and hollers.  
  
"Clear out, clear out, now!" A voice ordered. The others groaned and returned to their holes. A face appeared over the top of the hole, and I saw a large black boy glaring at me.  
  
"Man, what the hell is wrong wit'chu?" He growled. I spit out some dirt and looked up at him.  
  
"You won't even begin to comprehend what's wrong with me." I said. He looked sorta freaked out and backed away. Another face loomed above me.  
  
"Diamond Tyler, is it?" He asked curtly, and I nodded slowly. "I'm Dr. Pendanski. Now get out and come with me." I climbed out and followed him. He took the brat by the arm and then led us to a neat looking cabin under the shade of two magnificent oak trees. He knocked on the door. The Warden came to the door and looked eagerly at us. Her expression faltered, however, when she saw the boy's face, which I had paid special attention to in my hitting. She then looked at me and then to Mr. Pendanski.  
  
"What happened here?" She asked.  
  
"Rex and Diamond had a fight." Mr. Pendanski said.  
  
"Really." She looked at me and then Rex. "Diamond. Come in here with me. You, go get X-ray some ice for his face." She then pulled me inside and then slammed the door in Pendanski's face before he could even protest. "Sit, please." I sat in the nearest chair.  
  
"Diamond, I am aware of why you were sent here. And I can tell you that if you keep up what you're doing, your face ain't gonna be pretty anymore." I snorted in amusement. Whatever. This woman was blind. I was uglier as the backside of a hog. She got up in my face.  
  
"Don't even TRY to deride me. You may be a girl, but that does not mean I'm going easy on you. I expect you to dig a hole like everyone else and KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF. If anyone gives you trouble, go to one of the counselors. You may leave." I got up and hastily left. People were getting on my nerves! I needed a smoke.  
  
I reached into my pocket and brought out a plain black box. I had told Mr. Sir that it had "girl stuff" in it, so he let me keep it. I took out a match and cigarette and lit the match.  
  
"Hey." A voice said. I whirled around and saw the crazy haired guy that had questioned me. He was looking at my match with a weird look in his eyes. I looked at it too and realized that it would go out soon so I lit my cigarette and took a puff. He watched my every movement.  
  
"Got something to say or what?" I said, annoyed that he was staring.  
  
"Got another one?" He said. I rolled my eyes but tossed him the matchbox and a cigarette. He struck the match and stared at it for a whole five seconds.  
  
"Light it already." I said. He did, and then looked at me.  
  
"What do I do?" He asked.  
  
"Uh...puff it?" I said, stating the obvious. He did that and then started coughing violently. I laughed. It felt strange coming from me. "Nice." I took another puff as he watched me again. "What?"  
  
"Why'd you beat up X-ray?" He asked.  
  
"He's a brat."  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"Fifteen."  
  
"WHAT?!" He nearly dropped his cigarette. "You're only fifteen and smoking?"  
  
"Yes," I said defiantly. "How old are you, then?"  
  
"Almost eighteen." He replied. There was a pause in the conversation. I took the chance to walk away, but he stopped me. "Don't go."  
  
"Why?" I asked, growing impatient. He shrugged a bit. I rolled my eyes and turned to go.  
  
"We could be friends?" He asked timidly as if I would stab him.  
  
"Sorry, I've never had any friends." I said. And so I left.  
  
~*~  
  
That's it for now folks! Tune in next time for...another chapter! And...uh...inthemeantimeREVIEW! *grins* 


	2. From smoke to blood

Hope you're liking this fic so far. Thanks to all my reviewers last chapter, but Texas, I must ask...What is a SurlySnapSue? I've heard MarySue, MaryLou(not the donkey), MaryWho...Lol, but not Surly Snap Sue.  
  
Enjoy chappie!  
  
~*~  
  
I dropped the stub of my cigarette into a hole and went up to the Wreck Room. The guys that were already there stopped and looked at me. I ignored them and sat on the sofa in front of the television. I stared at the screen, in deep thought until a crazy haired someone plopped down beside me.  
  
"Hi." He said. I sighed.  
  
"What now?" I said.  
  
"I'm just saying 'hi.' You don't have to be pushy." He said. I rolled my eyes. He stared.  
  
"Why are you still here?" I put a hand over my eyes. I needed another smoke after dealing with this kid.  
  
"Cuz I can be here." He said.  
  
"Not if I don't know your name."  
  
"Zigzag."  
  
"Oh good: Zigzag, go away." He didn't move.  
  
"Was is it with you and staring?" I got up and left, slightly pissed. I wanted to be left alone. Like it used to be before I was sent here. But now, I'm surrounded all day, with no privacy whatsoever.  
  
I lit a match.  
  
Then I heard the gasp.  
  
"What are you doing?" The person said. I sighed.  
  
"What does it look like?" I turned around and faced a tall boy with curly brown hair that was half-hidden under an orange cap. I took out a cigarette and lit it.  
  
"That's really bad for your lungs, you know." He said.  
  
"Who the hell are you to tell me about what's bad for my lungs?" I snapped. He paused.  
  
"Sorry." He said timidly. I looked at him and smirked.  
  
"I'm Diamond. Who are you?" I said. He seemed the shy type.  
  
"Caveman."  
  
"Ahah. Does everyone go by nicknames here or what?" I asked, kicking up some sand.  
  
"Yeah, it's like...tradition. Like all the boys in my family were named Stanley, 'cuz it's my last name spelled backwards..." He trailed off. I nodded.  
  
"Yeah, interesting." I said, listlessly. He looked somewhat hurt.  
  
"Okay...well, I guess I'll go now." He said.  
  
"You do that." I replied, thankful for another chance of privacy. He left, and I just stood there, thinking. I never thought of anything big, just minor things. Like how smoke looks as it billows up after you exhale, or how little bits of sand blew up as the touch of the wind washed over the ground. Just little things so I could take a break from all the hard stuff in life, like how my hands were hurting like hell, or how the idiot judge sent me to the wrong camp.  
  
I dropped the stub in a hole and then went into the Wreck Room. I plopped down on the sofa in front of the TV and was out cold for the rest of the night.  
  
~*~  
  
I heard the stupid horn again and then sat up, rubbing my eyes. I was aching all over. My hands, my arms, my eyes, my back...were all hurting in one way or another. I got up miserably and trudged out of the room. I picked up the honey soaked corn tortilla and then grabbed a shovel. X-ray grabbed "his" shovel and gave me a spoiled brat look. I didn't care about that doofus. He could get bit by a lizard-spotted yellow...yellow-lizard- spotted...a lizard for all I care. God, I was so tired I couldn't even think straight.  
  
Digging was hectic. My blisters popped and I even got a splinter in the middle of my palm that hurt more than a mom having triplets. I glanced around my half dug hole and saw once again that people were way ahead of me. The little fuzzy-haired kid had finished already and was helping Caveman with his hole.  
  
"Lucky ass." I muttered. Soon, they too had finished and I was left with Zigzag and the Mexican boy whose name I didn't know. I gripped the shovel firmly and pushed on, a trickle of blood running down my arm. Just then I felt something slither against my leg. I looked down quickly, thinking that one of those little lizard-yellow-spots had got me, but instead I saw the hugest rattler ever.  
  
I stared at it, transfixed, as it slid around me, its forked tongue lapping the air hungrily. It turned its ugly face up towards me and hissed...  
  
...And then it struck.  
  
~*~  
  
Right. So now she dies. The end.  
  
*twiddles thumbs*  
  
...  
  
*Can't ignore angry glares any longer*  
  
Okay, she MAY survive! Find out next chappie! 


	3. Pain

Ah, thank you Kirjava Deamon for describing that for me! Well for the "get the guy she wants" thing...that really doesn't apply here...you'll see why in the next couple chappies...*grins evilly* It has a LOT to do with the "I'm stuck with a bunch of stupid males" thing.  
  
Well, enjoy chappie!  
  
~*~  
  
I felt nothing but searing pain as the fangs sank into my flesh. I cried out in pain and collapsed...  
  
...And the last thing I saw before I blacked out was the rattler's ugly face staring at me.  
  
~*~  
  
"...Let's just keep her elevated like this, don't let her move if she wakes up, and I'll go run down to the Warden's for antivenin."  
  
"Well, that's what she gets."  
  
"God, X, can't you see she can die right now?"  
  
I opened my eyes and had an upside-down view of Zigzag. Above both of us was a canvas ceiling of a tent, so I figured they had carried me here. I looked at Zigzag. I guess he had me lying against him, but then I stopped worrying about it as a vicious pain shot up my left leg.  
  
"Fuck!" I nearly yelled. Zigzag looked down at me, his eyes round like saucers.  
  
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly.  
  
"No! My leg is being ripped apart!" I barked. Zigzag just sat there and stared at my wound.  
  
"Where the hell is Pendanski?" Squid said, looking at me, worried.  
  
Soon Pendanski came with a bottle of liquid. I closed my eyes as he treated my wound with the stuff. It hurt more than anything else in the world.  
  
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" I yelled. Everyone jumped two feet in the air.  
  
"Antivenin. It will help the snake bite." Pendanski said earnestly. I bit hard on my lip to stop from yelling.  
  
"Can't you give her painkillers, Mom?" Zigzag asked. Pendanski shook his head.  
  
"We are not authorized to give minors any medication unless they have a prescription—"  
  
"Fuck the prescription, damnit! Give me the painkillers!" I yelled.  
  
"I wonder if Barfbag was like this." Squid said.  
  
~*~  
  
A few hours later, I woke up to see that it was dark inside the tent. I felt someone's head on my shoulder and realized that Zigzag had fallen asleep while watching over me. I looked down and saw that they had bandaged up my leg, but it still throbbed with pain. I tried to move, but then received a snort in my ear and then the head was lifted off of my shoulder.  
  
"What's up?" He asked drowsily.  
  
"Let go of me." I said harshly. I hated physical contact, and it was enough with all those guards handling me when I was arrested.  
  
"Pendanski said you had to stay still." He said.  
  
"Fuck what that idiot says. I gotta go pee." I said. Zigzag's eyes widened and then he turned the brightest shade of red that I've ever seen.  
  
"Okay...uh...I'll carry you." He said.  
  
"No you aren't!"  
  
"Do you wanna go pee or not?" I sighed and eventually let him carry me. He lowered me into a hole and then turned away.  
  
"Um...so...um..." Zigzag stuttered.  
  
"Shh..." I said. Let's face it; I hate noise when I go to the bathroom. When I was done, he helped me out and then we went back to the tent.  
  
"What the heck happened just now?" Squid said, sitting up. He smirked at us.  
  
"Nothing. Zigzag said quickly, putting me down on his cot and then sitting on the floor.  
  
"Aah. I see..." Squid said.  
  
"What, do you wanna escort me to the potty next time, too?" I snapped. Squid blinked. "Keep your smartass mouth shut."  
  
Then, thank God, it was quiet for the rest of the night. 


	4. Exhaustion

Another chappie! YAAAY!  
  
~*~  
  
The next morning I awoke to a faint throbbing in my leg.  
  
"Feel better?" Zigzag asked me, rubbing his eyes and getting up from the floor.  
  
"I got bit by a snake, dumbass. What do you think?" I muttered. "Do I have to dig today?"  
  
"Are your arms in any torture?" Pendanski said, popping into the tent. I blinked at his sudden appearance.  
  
"...No." He clapped his hands and smiled.  
  
"Then you're digging." He said.  
  
"Thank fucking goodness." I whispered sarcastically.  
  
~*~  
  
It was 4 o' clock and my hole was only two and a half feet deep. My back muscles felt all seized up and my arms felt like they were going to fall off. It was a good seven thirty when Mr. Sir came and shooed me off to bed. I obeyed thankfully, and I collapsed on the couch, still in my work clothes.  
  
~*~  
  
"Where were you yesterday?" Zigzag asked me as we gathered around the Library in the morning. My whole body felt as if it were being stabbed all over with daggers. I didn't speak to him. I was too exhausted.  
  
"Dig." Mr. Sir said, marking a spot on the ground with his boot. I poked my shovel halfheartedly into the ground and he laughed at my weakness. That jerk. I wished I could lift up my shovel and stab him right in the gut. Between deep breaths, I dug slowly, my head swimming with exhaustion and pain.  
  
"Oh...damn." I slurred, stumbling forward suddenly. I had grown dizzy all of a sudden. I fell forward onto my knees and emptied any stomach contents I had left in me...  
  
...then I was engulfed in blackness. ~*~  
  
I awoke to a terrible headache and several hushed voices. I kept my eyes tightly shut against the pain.  
  
"I should have picked jail over this." I croaked. The voices stopped.  
  
"Diamond?" A gentle voice asked. I felt my forehead. They had a freezing cold wet cloth there. I threw it off me and heard someone gasp.  
  
"Damn, that was cold water." They said. I couldn't tell who it was. Then someone placed their rough, warm hand on my cheek. I felt them gently tracing the curve of my cheekbone with their thumb.  
  
"Getting a little comfy there, eh, Caveman?" At those words, I pushed the hand away.  
  
"Leave me alone." I whispered.  
  
"Drink some water first." I felt someone sitting me up. A canteen was held to my lips and I drank thankfully. Oh, how my throat had been parched.  
  
"Go to the Wreck Room, guys. She needs rest." I heard sighs and the rustles of a tent flap. I made an effort to open my eyes and I saw two faces looking down at me. One was Zigzag and the other was a boy that I hadn't met. He had curly brown hair and hazel-like eyes.  
  
"She's okay with me, Caveman." So this was the touchy-feely guy.  
  
"I can help." Caveman said. Zigzag sighed.  
  
"I've got it, man." He said.  
  
"Shh..." I whispered. Their voices were making my headache worse. Caveman looked at me with concerned eyes while Zigzag looked at me with wide eyes.  
  
"What's wrong?" They said at the same time. I cringed.  
  
"My. Head. Is. Going. To. Explode." I said.  
  
"X has some aspirin in his crate. I'm sure he won't miss a couple." Zigzag said, fetching the aspirin. He gave two to me and I glugged them down with water. Caveman then started massaging my shoulders as I was sitting up. No one had ever done that to me, and it felt so wonderful. Nothing had ever felt so wonderf...what was I saying?! I tensed up a bit, but I didn't stop him.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked him.  
  
"Massaging your shoulders." He said.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Don't tell me your shoulders don't hurt after all you've been through." He said. I laughed coldly.  
  
"Someone like you wouldn't even begin to comprehend all that I've been through." I replied. He almost stopped, caught unaware by my answer.  
  
"You can tell me if you want." He said. I had been taking a swig of water, and I almost choked at his answer. I turned around to face him.  
  
"You want to know about my life?" I asked, skeptically. He nodded. "You couldn't handle it, trust me."  
  
"Tell us. We can handle it." I looked over at Zigzag, who had been watching us with jealousy etched all over his face. I blinked and then looked from him to Caveman and back again. They were giving tough looks to each other. I almost laughed. They were competing for me! Too bad for them, though. I wasn't about to look for a soul mate in a trashy place like this. In fact, I wouldn't want to be stuck with some dim-witted person for the rest of my life. I enjoyed my sanity and solitude. 


End file.
